Opinion Contributor

Entitlement reform to boost research and development

Despite strong congressional support for science, the future of the United States’ scientific initiative could be in jeopardy. But the real driving force behind the threat is often obscured in the media by short-term distractions. America’s national debt hovers dangerously close to $17 trillion for the first time in history. Any honest economist will tell you a government can’t afford to pay for everything. Governing is about making difficult choices.

We must set priorities and get our nation’s spending under control. To accomplish this we must reform entitlement programs. If we don’t, experts warn, future funding for other budget priorities, including scientific research, could be in jeopardy.

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During the partial government shutdown in October, many in the scientific community expressed concern about its impact on federally funded research. As chairman of the House Science Committee, I take these concerns seriously. But over the long term, the temporary shutdown may prove to be the least of our worries.

It’s important to first put America’s scientific investments in context. Funding for U.S. science agencies comes out of what is referred to as the “discretionary” budget. Congress has more control over how this money is allocated than so-called mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs. Discretionary spending makes up less than one-fifth of all federal spending. And nondefense research and development, R&D, is only a fraction of that.

R&D funding, as a percentage of the overall discretionary budget, has historically been incredibly stable, ranging from 10 percent to 13 percent over the past 40 years. And federal research and development programs have always enjoyed broad bipartisan support: Shifts in political power between the parties have had little effect. But budget experts warn that growth in entitlement spending will squeeze this stable funding stream.

Excluding national defense, the government’s largest expenses are for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And spending on these programs is projected to skyrocket in the coming years largely because of the rising cost of health care and an aging U.S. population. Increases in entitlement spending will place enormous pressure on other budget priorities, including our nation’s science funding.

To understand why, consider the big picture: In 1970, approximately one-third of the budget was allocated to mandatory spending programs. The other two-thirds was devoted to discretionary accounts, including 3.5 percent for nondefense R&D spending. Today those figures have flipped, with approximately two-thirds of the federal budget devoted to mandatory spending, leaving only one-third for discretionary programs and just 1.6 percent of the total budget for nondefense R&D spending. In other words, discretionary spending has become a much smaller slice of the overall budgetary pie.

Even more troubling, the American Association for the Advancement of Science projects that in only four years, mandatory spending by the federal government will have crowded out discretionary funding even further to approximately one-fourth of the overall budget with only 1.3 percent allocated for nondefense R&D. This is a huge problem for America’s long-term scientific leadership.

In the short term, we need to replace sequestration funding levels with smarter, fiscally responsible alternatives that can pass both houses of Congress. My Republican colleagues and I stand ready to work with the Senate and the president to find alternatives to the mandatory sequestration budget cuts that took effect this year.

But until we find a way to reform entitlement programs and address the elephant in the room — mandatory spending — science agencies could continue to see shrinking budgets, and America’s status as the world leader in science and innovation will be in danger.

Everyone recognizes that R&D is a valuable investment. Now that the partial government shutdown has ended, I will work with the science community to ensure that scarce federal funds are protected and prioritized so projects that benefit the American people can continue. But there is no painless resolution to our looming fiscal crisis. Science can bring us a better tomorrow but only if we are willing to reform entitlement programs today.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.